Our Village keeps on growing — and growing and growing.
Village Media, the local news company that operates this community website, is bolstering its legislative coverage with the acquisition of Queen’s Park Today, Ontario’s leading political newsletter, and Parliament Today, its federal twin. The deal, which closed Oct. 1, will expand our existing roster of award-winning journalists at the Ontario Legislature and create Village Media’s first-ever bureau on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
Village is also thrilled to announce that our team is just a few weeks away from launching TorontoToday, a one-of-a-kind hyperlocal news source dedicated to serving the downtown neighbourhoods of Canada’s largest city. You can check out our mission statement HERE.
One more thing. That massive project we’ve been working on for years — SPACES, a new kind of social media network that is 100 per cent local — is about to go live. If you haven’t already, please sign up for the waitlist so you’re ready for the big day.
Let’s start with today’s breaking news: Village Media’s acquisition of Queen's Park Today and Parliament Today.
Founded in 2012 by journalist and entrepreneur Allison Smith, Queen’s Park Today is the first thing thousands of Ontario lawmakers, political staffers and insiders read every morning for what they need to know: political event listings and coverage of question period, legislative debates and votes, funding announcements, political nominations and more.
Parliament Today was launched in 2021 to cover federal politics with the same insight, intelligence and urgency. The newsletter is a must-read for anyone who needs to be in loop on all things Parliament Hill.
Both newsletters and the journalists behind them will now operate as part of The Trillium, Village Media’s talented bureau of legislative reporters based at Queen’s Park. Launched in early 2023, The Trillium has quickly become the must-read media outlet for scoops and breaking news about Ontario policy and politics.
“Our intent is to make this one plus one equals three for our subscribers," says Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media. “Instead of having to purchase multiple subscriptions, we're going to be bundling all of this amazing content together, enabling subscribers of both publications to get more for less.”
Reporter Alan S. Hale will continue to write the Queen’s Park Today newsletter under The Trillium banner. Alan has covered the legislature on a daily basis for three-and-a-half years.
Katherine Declerq will continue her role as editor of Queen’s Park Today and Parliament Today. Before joining Queen’s Park Today this summer, Katherine was CTV News’ bureau chief at the legislature.
Parliament Hill reporter Palak Mangat will continue to write the Parliament Today newsletter. Palak has been reporting from the Hill for more than five years.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled to have these talented journalists join our team,” says Jessica Smith Cross, editor-in-chief of The Trillium. “Today’s announcement is a reason for optimism about the future of Canadian news.”
As for Allison Smith, we are thrilled to report she will be joining Village Media as the founding editor of the company’s biggest news venture yet: TorontoToday. Set to launch later this month, the site will cover the city’s core like never before — with a boots-on-the-ground focus on the people, places, events and information that make downtown Toronto such a unique and vibrant community.
“I have called Toronto home for 16 years and I am so excited to turn my journalistic eye on the city,” says Smith, who has led a roster of reporters and editors from across the country as they produce top-quality daily journalism. “There is so much local news that goes unreported. TorontoToday is going to change that.”
Born digital, Village Media operates 25 local news websites across Ontario, including GuelphToday, SooToday, BarrieToday, Sudbury.com and BurlingtonToday. Our award-winning local reporters and editors are committed to strengthening the communities they serve by providing free, reliable, up-to-the-minute coverage of the stories that matter most: the ones closest to home.
“Strong local news is just as vital to democracy as hard-hitting political news,” says Michael Friscolanti, the editor-in-chief of Village Media. “At Village, we’re strengthening both in communities across the province.”
Today’s announcements coincide with the imminent launch of SPACES, a Village Media project years in the making. What is it? Think social media network — but safe and welcoming and community-powered. SPACES will roll out first on our flagship site, SooToday, then expand to the rest of our local news network in the weeks to come. You can find out more about SPACES HERE and HERE.
“SPACES is our attempt to revive the lost art of meaningful local engagement,” Elgie says. “This new network isn’t just another project for us. We believe it will be transformational, a pivotal step toward mending the social fabric of our communities by fostering civil, respectful discussions.”
In the meantime, please be sure to subscribe to all of our free email newsletters (if you haven’t already) — including the afternoon edition dedicated to your local community.
Ontario political junkies can sign up for The Trillium’s free afternoon news digest, The Wrap, and subscribe to receive the comprehensive Queen’s Park Today morning newsletter and The Trillium’s exclusive reporting.
And our new Toronto newsletter, The Stir, is already the city’s most entertaining and informative weekday newsletter. Don’t miss it.